SALEM — New restrictions on killing beavers wouldn’t apply in Oregon’s exclusive farm use zones under proposed changes to a landmark timber management law passed last year.

The Private Forest Accord, a compromise struck between timber and environmental groups, imposed new logging setbacks along streams and increased protections for beavers, among other provisions.

Critics say the new beaver control limits were inadvertently extended to some farmland when the agreement was incorporated into forestry statutes in 2022.

The legislation defined forestland too broadly by including trees growing in farm zones, even if they’re not harvested for commercial purposes, said Lauren Poor, vice president of government and legal affairs for the Oregon Farm Bureau.

Affected agricultural landowners who didn’t partake in negotiations over the Private Forest Accord should be excluded from the beaver management restrictions under House Bill 2161, she said during a recent legislative hearing.

“The statute must be consistent with the intent of the PFA to only apply to those private commercial forestlands that were represented and intended to be covered,” Poor said.

Before killing beavers, forestland owners must now notify state wildlife managers so they can relocate the animals or mitigate the “threat to infrastructure.” The law contains some exceptions, such as when the damage is imminent or is already occurring.

Under House Bill 2161, properties in exclusive farm use zones wouldn’t be subject to the beaver control restrictions or certain other new requirements, such as inspections and mapping by forestry regulators.

Maximum civil penalties for violating forestry regulations would be cut by half, from $10,000 to $5,000, within exclusive farm zones.

The bill would increase the tax credit for small woodland owners with fewer than 5,000 acres if they comply with more extensive no-harvest buffers around streams.

The tax credit is currently limited to half the value of the unharvested timber, while HB 2161 would allow landowners to claim the full value.

Tim Miller, who owns 1,000 acres near Siletz, Ore., said the riparian buffers have effectively taken about 20% of his family’s harvestable forestland out of production.

Imposing the logging restrictions has effectively eliminated 20% of their retirement savings, Miller said. “That’s what you’ve done here. You’ve taken it from us.”

While the no-harvest buffers are “really devastating” to small woodland owners, HB 2161 will at least soften the financial impact, he said. “A tax credit is better than nothing, so that’s why I support this bill.”

The Wild Salmon Center and other environmental groups that crafted the Private Forest Accord don’t object to these tax provisions but oppose the bill’s regulatory “carve-outs.”

The agreement used an existing legal definition of forestland and any exemptions based on land use zones wouldn’t align with its goals, said Stacey Detwiler, the Wild Salmon Center’s state policy manager.

However, environmental groups would be willing to clarify the circumstances under which the beaver protections apply, she said. “We recognize the importance of providing timely recourse for irrigators or stock water systems impacted by beaver activity.”

The bill’s tax credit proposal has come under fire from Tax Fairness Oregon, which argues the original rules should be given time to work.

The current tax provisions haven’t been effective long enough to determine whether they’re sufficient to encourage small forestland owners to opt for wider buffers, according to the tax reform organization.

“Until we really let things play out and see what happens, it’s too early to make this kind of change,” said Jody Wiser, the group’s founder.